CALIFORNIA FISH & GAME and their ties to the HSUS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

California Houndsmen for Conservation Offers $5000 Donation to California Department of Fish and Game in Response to Department Alliance with The Humane Society of the United States

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA (August 25, 2009) – California Houndsmen for Conservation (CHC) announced their offer of $5000 to the California Department of Fish and Game in support of the agency’s California Turn In Poacher (CalTIP) K-9 Program provided that the $4000 donation the Humane Society of the United States made to the program be immediately returned. The offer was extended in writing on July 16, 2009 to Don Koch, Director of Fish and Game, and Nancy Foley, Chief of Enforcement, who oversees the K-9 program, in response to a donation the Department accepted from The Humane Society of the United States recently.

“When one considers the stated intentions of The Humane Society of the United States to ban all hunting throughout this country, the acceptance of such a donation from an anti-hunting organization is fundamentally at odds with the Mission Statement and goals of the California Department of Fish and Game,” said Josh Brones, Legislative Analyst for CHC. “We find this action especially concerning in light of the fact that the operating budget of the Department of Fish and Game is overwhelmingly funded by monies generated from the hunting and fishing community in California.”

John Kunkle, President of CHC said, “As the historic stewards of California’s natural resources, and the community who was responsible for the founding of the Department of Fish and Game, California’s hunters have a legacy of protecting our wildlife from those who would misuse it. In this spirit, CHC is pleased to offer this contribution to support the effort to provide California’s wardens with an effective canine partner in the fight against poaching. Who better to offer such assistance to the K-9 program than CHC.”

CalTIP was introduced in 1981 in order to provide Californians with an opportunity to protect their natural resources. The toll-free telephone number operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and allows an individual to report suspected poachers or polluters anonymously. The K-9 program was established to help protect wardens when patrolling isolated wilderness, detect the presence of invasive species, locate popular black market items such as bear gall bladders and abalone, and apprehend suspects.

Director Koch has not responded to either the initial offer or a subsequent request for communication at the time of this release.


Facts:
• Often confused with local humane shelters seeking to find homes for unwanted or abandoned pets, The HSUS is an organization that seeks to:
• place limits on the consumption of animals for food
• restrict the ownership of animals as pets
• curb the consumption of meat
• impede the operation or existence of circuses
• prohibit the use of fur for clothing
• ban all forms of hunting as both a means of recreation and wildlife management
• On the sport of hunting, Wayne Pacelle, CEO of HSUS has stated:
• “We are going to use the ballot box and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United States...We will take it species by species until all hunting is stopped in California. Then we will take it state by state."
• “Our goal is to get sport hunting in the same category as cock fighting and dog fighting.”
• “If we could shut down all sport hunting in a moment, we would.”
• On the use and ownership of domestic animals, Pacelle has said:
• “We have no ethical obligation to preserve the different breeds of livestock produced through selective breeding...One generation and out. We have no problems with the extinction of domestic animals. They are creations of human selective breeding.”
• “If I had my personal view, perhaps [a future without pets] might take hold. In fact, I don’t want to see another dog or cat born.”


Media Contact: relations@californiahoundsmen.com


California Houndsmen for Conservation is a statewide not-for-profit organization working towards the protection and promotion of hunting as both a time-honored piece of American culture and a sound means of wildlife management. Since its inception in 1972, CHC has worked tirelessly to educate the public and introduce children to the many benefits of using dogs in the recreational pursuit of wildlife. Visit CHC on the web at californiahoundsmen.com.